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We are capping off Hispanic Heritage Month with a modern YA classic. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez has us feeling so many feelings right along with Julia. This was a familiar book for many of us, but Darlene's reread has her rethinking everything she thought she felt about the book. In this episode, we examine grief, familial pressure, and family secrets. The book can be a little heavy, but don't worry because we've got some real life happy Hawa updates and a tangentially-related-at-best quiz where we discuss the merits of egg on pizza.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via #TheseBooksMadeMe on socials, follow us on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or reach out by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info.

For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we're rereleasing an episode on one of our favorites, Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, by Isabel Quintero. Keep an eye on your podcatcher for a brand new episode on I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter next week!

Our central character, Gabi, is smart, opinionated and shockingly self-aware. It's that self-awareness that helps her craft inspiring and thought-provoking poetry that tackles sexism, anti-fat rhetoric and personal family dynamics.

Despite the novel being released 10 years ago, Gabi, a Girl in Pieces still feels fresh and relevant. It's partly helped by not relying on phones or social media, which seems intentional as it follows in the footsteps of another piece of YA media that also forewent the use of cellphones -- Juno (which is referenced in the novel). But the other part is how strongly is captures the teenage experience. It even got Heather to recall her own mortifying experience (we all sympathize, Heather!).

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. Or, try out our fan mail feature! For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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What would you do if a girl 1. you've never met, 2. have never seen and 3. whose name you've never even heard before, allegedly wants to kick your ass? Well, that's something that Piedad "Piddy" Sanchez has to contend with after having just moved to her new school. This episode, we're discussing "Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass" by Cuban-American author, Meg Medina. We discuss how the fraught mother-daughter relationship in this book compares to books we've covered in the past, the different examples of femininity portrayed and the realistic depiction of sexuality in a YA novel. We have a few gripes but they're pretty superficial - maybe Darlene isn't too happy the character with her name is irredeemable and Heather and special guest, Felix, are super confused by Piddy's decision to offer a kitten to a teenage boy who can barely take care of himself. But overall, we overwhelmingly love and recommend this book and hope you enjoy our discussion.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.